Watson Told Trudeau Convoy Protesters Were ‘Nasty’ and Un-Canadian: Phone Call

The outgoing Ottawa mayor denied politicizing the protests

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson at the start of a meeting with Mayors of Canada's largest cities in Ottawa on Feb. 6, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call that the Freedom Convoy protesters were “nasty people” that don’t represent the country, saying they remind him of the Republican Party, documents presented at the inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act show. His comments were shown at the inquiry on Oct. 18, where he later denied to the convoy protesters’ lawyer that he had politicized the protests.

“A challenge for everyone. Still a pretty unstable situation. Nasty people out there that just don’t represent Canada,” Watson told Trudeau on Feb. 8, according to a transcript presented at the public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Reminds me of the Republican Party down south. Can’t reason with them, so vulgar, and hateful attacking people, ripping masks off, honking their horns.”

The transcript was presented by senior counsel Natalia Rodriguez while Watson was testifying at the inquiry.

The call between the mayor and prime minister revolved around getting officers from the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP on the ground with the Ottawa Police Service to respond to the protests, but which needed agreement from the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

Watson said during his testimony that he shared Trudeau’s frustration that Ontario Premier Doug Ford wasn’t taking part in tripartite discussions with the City of Ottawa and the federal government regarding responding to the protests.

“We couldn’t get a clear answer as to whether they were going to support the number of officers that were needed, and … the premier did not come to Ottawa during the occupation,” he said.

The pressure eventually worked, Watson said, as they got additional police officers from the province. “Most of this was done behind the scenes so that we were not going to show that, at least at the political level, there was this fractious debate,” he said.

Politicization

Watson denied he politicized the protests when cross-examined by Freedom Convoy counsel Brendan Miller, who asked if the mayor agreed that he did not properly handle the situation that was before him in January and February.

“No, I think I would characterize it as, given all the information and the circumstances, we did the best we could, which obviously was not good enough,” Watson said.

“Can you agree with me that you politicized the protests and politicized the situation?” Miller probed, to which Watson said he disagreed with that question.

“You’d agree that the politicization of the matter, which you claim was not yourself, but that the matter was politicized by the federal government?” Millier asked.

“No,” Watson replied.

The inquiry was formed by the federal government as required by the Emergencies Act to examine the justification of its use.

Omid Ghoreishi contributed to this report.